Ice cream shop looking for robber

July 23, 2013

TYRONE - A borough ice cream shop was robbed Monday afternoon by a man with a knife.

According to Tyrone police, a man entered the Gardners Candies ice cream parlor, 30 W. 10th St., Rear, at 4 p.m. Monday with a large kitchen knife and demanded money before fleeing with an undisclosed amount of cash.

"She did the right thing," said Gardners Candies President Sam Phillips of the employee who encountered the robber. "She did what she was instructed to do."

What she did, Phillips said, was hand over the money after the man brandished a knife and demanded cash.

"He said, 'give me your money,'" Phillips said, adding the robber made no threats and said nothing else. No one was hurt, Philips said, and the store was preparing to reopen by 6 p.m.

Tyrone Police Chief John Romeo said the suspect is described as a white man, in his early 20s, thin, standing about 5-foot-10 and was wearing a blue and white checkered shirt with rolled-up sleeves. The robber had facial hair, Romeo said, but he pulled his shirt up to cover his face below his eyes. The suspect was not wearing a hat, Romeo said.

Police were alerted to a possible sighting of a man matching that description at around 4:30 p.m. in the Park Avenue area between Fourth and Seventh streets, according to police.

A juvenile on a bicycle wearing a blue and white shirt was detained briefly on Park Avenue between Seventh Street and Pine Alley. Police drove a store employee to identify the suspect, and Romeo said the juvenile was cleared and released.

Tyrone police said the suspect might have been outside the store about 10:45 p.m. Sunday wearing the same clothing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Tyrone police at 684-1365.